I know you learn more from mistakes than from success, but dang success the first try is just sooo much sweeter. This was a trial set up anyway, I knew we had weather coming in so I checked on it in the wind, great! The tarp was a little loose, but I figured a little adjustment next time would it would be perfect. Well the "loose" created a small puddle between ribs and that grew, anyway there was about 300 pounds of water on there. Learn from my fail- Ribs on 10foot centers is too far and make sure the tarp is tight.

BEFORE

AFTER

It popped almost all the way back up after the water was removed.

What does not kill me makes for great campfire stories.Be Good,Frizzboom Dinkdoodle

Yessssss... I've learned this lesson the hard way with boat covers here in FL. If it's ANYTHING but completely taught, then water will catch it.. and make a little puddle.. which will make a bigger puddle.. and bigger puddle..

At least rain is one element that you don't need to overly worry about at TTITD.

Grai, relax, have some erb and enjoy...I am going to have some pie with cool-wHip on it.

graidawg wrote:

TT120 wrote:

theCryptofishist wrote:*I want everyone to know that I'm restraining myself by not correcting an homonym error*(Of course, the only reason "homonym" is spelled correctly is that I have spellcheck.)

Wouldn't it be "a" homonym error?

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

I considered that too but as "H" is usually relatively silent then an is often used such "an hotel" although when americans say "erb" instead of "herb" it drives me batshit

Dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms, one of them’s making a poop, the other one’s carrying it for him, who would you assume is in charge? " I am a controlled substance". Savannah.

I use aluminet (on 4 huts now) which sheds rain and wind and is much much cooler in the daytime than any tarp. Aluminet is way lighter to pack and much easier to work with; it does not shred or rip and is very forgiving in terms of fit.

I do not understand why anybody would use a tarp, really. The tarps that are cheaper than aluminet are the ones that shred, collapse and/or fly away.

trilobyte wrote:MyDearFriend - aluminet is awesome (and I'm looking forward to using it with a project for 2013), but it's also about double the cost per square foot of a heavy duty silver on silver tarp.

worth every penny!!!

Love Rice

Roach: "I feel like in this day and age, every girl should know how to build a flamethrower."

We used 90% shade cloth on 1/2 the big hut 75% on the other half. On the Dye shop it was an 80%shade cloth with a tie-dyed parachute underneath. It was fabulous shade. You could tell a marked difference in temp walking from the 75% side into the 90% side.

Tarps are good, but they tend to hold heat in. Shade cloth breathes. Not water proof no, but a tent underneath it is pretty good place to stay warm and dry.

When the only tool you got is a hammer, every problem looks like a hippie.

Mmmmmm I love the smell of Burning Man - Token

Getting overly dramatic about the ticket sale process is so 2012. - Maladroit

Aluminet is exactly the same as knit HDPE (high-density polyethylene) shade mesh, except the surfaces of the strands are metalized. How well it sheds water, breaks wind, or acts as camouflage depends on how clogged with playa dust it gets. I believe it's about half the weight of blue economy-type tarp.

Bob wrote:Aluminet is exactly the same as knit HDPE (high-density polyethylene) shade mesh, except the surfaces of the strands are metalized. How well it sheds water, breaks wind, or acts as camouflage depends on how clogged with playa dust it gets. I believe it's about half the weight of blue economy-type tarp.

Dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms, one of them’s making a poop, the other one’s carrying it for him, who would you assume is in charge? " I am a controlled substance". Savannah.

Looking at your build, I'd have to second the smaller spacing between ribs. The other bit that I've had great success with is drawing the tarp as tight as possible around the frame. This helps and billowing of the tarp in the wind and also acts as a secondary support for the structure. Also consider attaching the sides of the tarp directly to the ground rather than the support bar. Those are my thoughts. Do with them what you will

Dancing is a state of mind and may not even involve movement at all.~Simon of the Playa

Update-Ribs on 5' centers worked great, we had 30 mph winds and no problem. I feel confident that it can go much higher. This design is very adaptable, it is easy to add more ribs, additional spines, etc. I am glad I spent the time torture testing it, bringing it straight out the BM or only half testing it would be rough. As to the open bottom, I was figuring one open end and a gap at the top of the opposite end, wouldn't there be more dust with an open bottom (let the jokes fly).

What does not kill me makes for great campfire stories.Be Good,Frizzboom Dinkdoodle

Frizzboom wrote:Update-Ribs on 5' centers worked great, we had 30 mph winds and no problem. I feel confident that it can go much higher. This design is very adaptable, it is easy to add more ribs, additional spines, etc. I am glad I spent the time torture testing it, bringing it straight out the BM or only half testing it would be rough. As to the open bottom, I was figuring one open end and a gap at the top of the opposite end, wouldn't there be more dust with an open bottom (let the jokes fly).

MDF is our acknowledged expert. her's was flawless. I'd take her advice.

MyDearFriend wrote:You get a much better environment inside the hut (cooler day-time temps and significantly less dust) if you leave at least a 6-inch gap between the cover and the ground. Trapping air is a big mistake.

Frizzboom wrote:Update-Ribs on 5' centers worked great, we had 30 mph winds and no problem. I feel confident that it can go much higher. This design is very adaptable, it is easy to add more ribs, additional spines, etc. I am glad I spent the time torture testing it, bringing it straight out the BM or only half testing it would be rough. As to the open bottom, I was figuring one open end and a gap at the top of the opposite end, wouldn't there be more dust with an open bottom (let the jokes fly).

MDF is our acknowledged expert. her's was flawless. I'd take her advice.

Thanks for the endorsement, Yggy! You have seen a lot of shelters come and go on the playa, so, your opinion means a lot to me.

Frizzboom, the dust in BRC is a constant presence in the air, even when you can't see it. Wind carries it everywhere. And whenever the wind is stopped or blocked, the dust drops out of the air in drifts. Keeping a continuous draft of air going along at ground level through your shelter carries a lot of that settling dust right on out the other side.

Oh and closing one end of a Monkey Hut can cause it to blow out in a sudden gust. The prevailing wind is pretty predictable when you are on the ground but the afternoon thermal effect can bring swirling gusts from every direction. The wind is stronger than your hut. Let it go.

MDF Good insight,thanks. I have a cool air from the bottom hot air out the top mentality, I need to switch to a dust in dust out mentality. The thing I like about this design is when a suggestion comes up about re-arranging it I know I can do it easily. The carport option has virtually no flexibility, I am totally sold on the Hut De Monkey.

What does not kill me makes for great campfire stories.Be Good,Frizzboom Dinkdoodle